Crypto regulation is fast becoming the deciding factor in how digital currencies, AI and financial systems shape the next era of global influence.

As technology continues to outpace legal frameworks, leaders across finance and tech are realizing that innovation alone isn’t enough. Stablecoins generating billions, digital assets treated like outdated liabilities, and AI-driven platforms pushing against legacy boundaries all signal the same truth: Without crypto regulation clarity, the momentum stalls. The race isn’t just about who builds fastest, it’s about who builds within systems that can scale securely, legally and globally.

On this week’s episode of theCUBE Pod, theCUBE Research’s John Furrier (pictured, left) and Dave Vellante (right) break down how the future of crypto regulation is deeply intertwined with national sovereignty, Wall Street’s IPO revival and the shifting center of gravity in semiconductors and supercomputing. From stablecoin viability to the geopolitical implications of chip design, their conversation paints a detailed map of where innovation meets infrastructure and what happens when policy lags behind.

“We said it’s going to be a Cold War, but I think it’s got to be more open — borderless communications, borderless commerce,” Furrier said.

AI momentum and crypto regulation are converging fast

In today’s technology climate, AI is accelerating adoption across vertical industries, while crypto remains entangled in outdated accounting systems and legal blind spots. Stablecoins, for instance, are throwing off billions in revenue while still being treated like intangible assets under legacy rules. Real traction requires new legislation and crypto regulation to match the innovation pace, according to Furrier and Vellante.

“You talked about the tech. You talked about U.S. Treasuries, but you talked about the whole crypto market,” Vellante said, referencing a recent interview that Furrier had with Tom Lee, chief investment officer of Fundstrat Capital LLC. “He talked about yield. He explained why stablecoins are so attractive. He talked about his fund, which is throwing off a hundred million dollars in cash annually. I mean, just a fantastic job. No repeat of what you get on CNBC.”

Even as Wall Street shows signs of renewed IPO activity, particularly among crypto firms, crypto regulation uncertainty remains the major speed bump. Without concrete guidance on how digital assets are classified, taxed and managed, major players are forced to navigate risk with ambiguity, Furrier pointed out.

“They’re going to put the guardrails, put all the KYC, all those governances, the stuff that may need to be in there. Once that’s in there, it’s going to be off to the races,” Furrier said. “There’s all these old-school regulatory and antiquated processes and procedures that are going to be disrupted by the crypto revolution.”

Inside the NYSE: Momentum builds around innovation

During the week, Furrier and Vellante were on-site at the New York Stock Exchange for theCUBE + NYSE Wired: MedTech Unplugged Series, where optimism about tech-driven growth was tangible. With thought leaders joining the exclusive conversations with theCUBE, the atmosphere reflected a mix of market recovery and future readiness, according to Furrier.

“What a busy week. We were here at the NYSE CUBE Studios for the NYSE program and a lot of action on the news,” he said. “You saw Intel had their earnings yesterday. Big story. I think this is huge for the industry as we lean in as a national defense, national sovereignty, AI’s race is on.”

The NYSE also played host to new developments in life sciences and MedTech, signaling that the innovation boom isn’t confined to crypto and chips alone. AI and edge computing were highlighted and how they are helping emerging medical devices bypass regulatory bottlenecks, opening new commercial opportunities with fewer constraints, Furrier added.

“Health tech is huge, MedTech is growing, bio is retrenching, digital health is booming,” he said. “I think the demand for product is going to be significantly high from the providers and the consumers of it. I predict all the healthcare shows, IMS, MedTech, digital health, healthcare tech, are all going to be enterprise like shows. AI, computing now factored in.”

National sovereignty, chips and economic realignment

The conversation also expanded to semiconductors and sovereignty, drawing a line between compute power and geopolitical leverage. As Intel Corp. struggles to reclaim relevance, Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. continue to gain ground. But the big picture, according to Furrier and Vellante, isn’t just about chips, it’s about whether the U.S. can lead in both manufacturing and monetary innovation at once.

“If you’re not leaning into it, and that’s why I like what David Sacks is doing over on the Trump Administration, he is focused like a laser on the key policies for AI and crypto to usher in lawmaking,” Furrier explained. “Because without policy and lawmaking, the banks and all these enforcements, you can’t have regulated industries without policy and law.”

While some fear overreach or deregulation with political motives, the lack of policy is equally dangerous. The crypto economy, like the internet before it, is global by design. Without sovereign structure, innovation could be exported, or worse, co-opted.

“We got the lead in AI,” Vellante said. “I generally feel like competing is the way to go here. I don’t care about the objective and anti woke-stuff being stuffed into these policies.”

Startups and VCs are sensing the urgency. Founders are rushing to go public through special-purpose acquisition companies and traditional IPOs while the window is open. But many still worry whether the rules of the road will be rewritten mid-journey. The policy vacuum is pushing leaders to advocate not just for deregulation but for smart, targeted legislation that supports U.S. interests, according to Furrier.

“I think the renaissance of technology with this race will spawn a generation of innovation,” he said. “Once you get that going, then sovereignty kicks in, cross-borderless communications, borderless commerce kicks in. You can’t have borderless commerce without sovereignty.”

Watch the full podcast below to find out why these industry pros were mentioned:

David Sacks, White House AI and crypto czar
Donald Trump, 45th and 47th president of the United States of America
Tom Lee, chief investment officer at Fundstrat Capital
Kenneth A. Goodwin Jr., MBA, CCI, CFE, managing partner at Jeanensis
Jason Calacanis, internet entrepreneur, co-host at All-In
Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of Social Capital, co-host at All-In
Keith Rabois, former general partner at Funders Fund
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia
JD Vance, VP of the United States
Joe Kernen, American newscaster
David Butler, operations manager at SiliconANGLE Media
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla
Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase
Dan Tapiero, founder of DTAP Capital
Bill Clinton, 42nd United States president
Rob Hof, editor-in-chief at SiliconANGLE Media
Joe Biden, 46th United States president
Charlie Giancarlo, CEO of Pure Storage
Amit Zavery, president, CPO and COO of ServiceNow
Arvind Krishna, chairman and CEO of IBM
Steve Mills, retired EVP at IBM
Ginni Rometty, Aspen economic strategy group member and former CEO of IBM
Matt Garman, CEO of AWS
Andy Jassy, president and CEO of Amazon
Lisa Su, chair and CEO of AMD
Brian J. Baumann, founder of NYSE Wired and director of capital markets, technology at NYSE
Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies
Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of Altimeter Capital
Marc Benioff, chair and CEO of Salesforce
Lars Rasmussen, Danish computer scientist
Peter Vesterbacka, tech entrepreneur
Mårten Mickos, executive and former CEO of HackerOne
Johanna Grossman, PhD, head of healthcare and life sciences capital markets at NYSE
Adam Selipsky, former CEO of AWS
Chase Lochmilller, CEO and co-founder of Crusoe

Here’s the full episode of this week’s theCUBE Pod:

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Photo: SiliconANGLE